Doctors need further training to treat foreigners

The HCMC government has told leading hospitals in this city to send their doctors to postgraduate programs so as to make them meet international standards to provide medical check-ups and treatments for foreigners.

HCMC vice chairman Hua Ngoc Thuan said many hospitals in the city have had advanced equipment, international-standard facilities and experienced doctors, but they are unable to meet requirements to examine foreigners, especially those using international health insurance.

Many foreigners work and live in Vietnam, but even the top hospitals in the country have not met the criteria to provide health check-ups for them.

The HCMC Medicine and Pharmacy University has opened a faculty to offer courses within two years for 20 doctors to get Master’s degrees and further skills, including English to examine and treat foreigners.

The city government suggested that the Ministry of Health quickly deploy a public- private partnership format to connect People’s Hospital 115 with the HoaLam-Shangri-La International Hi-tech Healthcare Park, invested and developed by Hoa Lam-Shangri-La Healthcare Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Vietnam’s Hoa Lam Corporation and Singapore’s Shangri-La Healthcare Investment Pte. Ltd.

The city also asked the ministry to allow doctors at public hospitals to collaborate with and work for private hospitals during office hours.

In HCMC, People’s Hospital 115 has met all the conditions to operate as the first special hospital in the city.

According to Circular 23/2005/TT-BYT issued in 2005, a special hospital must be a leading hospital fulfilling the criteria for medical functions, staff, management, department organization and scale, infrastructure and facilities equipped with advanced technologies.

887 workers return to Vietnam safely from Libya

A total of 887 Vietnamese workers have flown home safely from war-torn Libya, the Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs announced on August 12.

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, on August 12 transported 180 workers from Egypt’s Cairo International Airport to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, marking the end of its evacuation plan.

About 81 other workers were brought home via charter flights departing from Istanbul, Turkey.

DOLAB reported that 209 Vietnamese workers have left Libya for neighbours like Turkey and Egypt, waiting for charter flights to Vietnam. They are scheduled to fly to Vietnam on August 13.

These Vietnamese were working for three Korean contractors carrying out projects in Libya.

One Vietnamese worker missing in Libya

A 42 year old Vietnamese worker has gone missing in Libya since July 26, said Mr. Truong Quang Tuong, secretary of the Thach Dai Commune Party’s Committee, Thach Ha District, the central province of Ha Tinh on August 11.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nham went missing after when he and two friends left their accommodations on their own initiative during the Ramadan Festival on July 26.

According to Simco Song Da Company who took Mr. Nham to Libya, he exited Vietnam on March 24 last year with passport number B6680433 in a contract between the company with its partner--the National Development Construction Company.

Simco Song Da said that they have warned their workers of the recently unstable security in Libya and advised them not to leave their accommodation for safety. However, Mr. Nham and the two workers still did so without informing their managers.

The company has worked with its partner, Vietnamese Embassy to Libya and Mr. Nham’s employer in search efforts but there is no information about him.

Mr. Nham is the main labor in his family whose situation is very difficult. He has wife and two children, Mr. Truong Quang Tuong added.

Flash floods hit Lai Chau, 7 killed and missing

Four people were reportedly dead and three others remain missing after flash floods caused by heavy downpours struck Tam Duong commune, Lai Chau province in the northern mountain region on August 12.

A sea of mud swept away a house in Thac Tinh village, Tam Duong town at around 02.00 in the morning. Five people sleeping in the house were reportedly killed or missing.

“Seeing water submerge the house, my parents woke us up. I immediately ran out of the house, but my parents did not,” Tan Lo May, 14, one of the two survivors of the disaster told VOV.

By 10.00am rescue workers had yet to find the bodies of Tan La U, the owner of the house, and two of his children. His second child and a nephew luckily survived the disaster.

Meanwhile, a large piece of rock fell on a house in Chu Va village, Son Binh commune early in the morning, killing a five-month old child and injuring his parents.

Local authorities have fanned out to disaster-hit villages to provide the bereaved with emergency aid and help with prevention work.

Rescue workers are clearing mud and soil blocking national highway 4D from Tam Duong to Son Binh

Landslides blocked traffic from Tam Duong town to Son Binh commune.

As torrential rains are expected in the coming days, a large number of households have been forced to move out of the danger areas. 

Many Vietnamese citizens working in Libya have been safely repatriated, however many are worried about what the future holds for them.

On August 10, an additional 184 Vietnamese workers landed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, bringing the total number returned from Libya to 453. However, many are unsure of what their next steps should be after such a jarring move.

Nguyen Van Phuong, a 26-year-old now again living in Hanoi, said, “I worked in Libya for eight months. This is the second time I've worked in that country. I had to return due to the turmoil in the region.”

Phuong said that his family had to pay VND50 million (USD2,354) for the entire trip. He has recouped this investment, but does not have much else to show for it on his return and is unsure about what to do next.

Tran Van Truc, who also recently returned from Libya shared some of the same concerns. “I don’t know what to do now. I’ve only worked in Libya for two months, but the money it cost for my trip was more than I made working there.”

Some have been forced into even worse positions. Tran Son Tinh, a worker from Ha Tinh Province, said his family used their land use certificate as collateral for a loan to finance his trip. “I’m pretty much the bread-winner for my family. Now that I made this move to Libya and only stayed for six months, the money it cost has left me and my family in debt."

Still, those who have been repatriated are among the lucky. There are still Vietnamese citizens living and working in Libya amid an extremely tense political situation.

To date, the human resource service provider Vietnam Manpower Supply and Commercial Joint Stock Company (Vinamex), has yet to take any sustainable measures to support the workers they have placed in Libya.

Nguyen Viet Hai, director of Vinamex, said the company is actively working with employers to supply food for Vietnamese workers still left in Libya.

“We have a plan to provide our workers who just worked in Libya for two to three months with support to find a new job. This is the short-term. For the long-term, we are hoping for guidance from the government," Hai said.

The company has offered compensation of VND1 million (USD47) toward a return ticket.

Police re-probes death of woman who died after cosmetic surgery

The Hanoi Procuracy has returned the case file of the death of a cosmetic surgery customer last year to local police for a re-investigation after a headless body collected last month from a river in the capital has been confirmed as her remains.

The Hanoi Procuracy has returned the case file of the death of a cosmetic surgery customer last year to local police for a re-investigation after a headless body collected last month from a river in the capital has been confirmed as her remains.

Police will re-investigate the case at the request of the prosecutor’s office as the corpse of the woman, Le Thi Thanh Huyen, was finally found after nine months of search by authorities and her family,VnExpress newswire quoted a senior colonel from the Hanoi Police Department as saying at a press conference on Wednesday.

Huyen’s body will provide important evidence for police to review charges against Doctor Nguyen Manh Tuong, 41, and his accomplice, Dao Quang Khanh, an 18-year-old security guard at his salon.

Both of the men admitted to throwing the woman’s corpse into the Hong (Red) River on October 19, 2013 after she died post-surgery at the doctor’s Cat Tuong beauty salon located in Hai Ba Trung District.

After the body was found on July 18 this year by local residents, police took a sample from it for DNA testing and the result showed that the DNA sample was identical to those taken from Huyen’s parents and daughter, police said.

Police emphasized that this DNA test result serves as crucial evidence pressing news charges against Dr. Tuong and Khanh.

They had earlier charged Dr. Tuong with “breaching regulations on medical examination and treatment, drug production, preparations, supply and sale or other medical services” and “interfering with human corpses, graves, and/or remains.”

Meanwhile, Khanh had been indicted for “interfering with human corpses, graves, and/or remains” and “stealing property.”

Currently, police are taking many measures to determine the cause of Huyen’s death, said Colonel Nguyen Van Vien, Chief of the Secretariat of the Hanoi Police Department.

When asked about the rumor that concrete blocks were found inside Huyen’s body, Colonel Vien said the body was strongly decomposing when it was recovered.

At that time, police took a sample for testing but did not determine whether there was any concrete inside the corpse, the official added.

Police are also probing whether Huyen’s head was cut off before her body was thrown into the river.

According to the case file, thirty minutes after experiencing aesthetic operations performed by Dr. Tuong from 12:00 pm until 4:00 pm October 19, 2013, Huyen had difficulty breathing and started foaming at the mouth.

Dr. Tuong gave her an injection and she appeared to recover. But at 5:45 pm, Huyen’s body suddenly turned blue and her blood pressure could not be measured.

The doctor then put Huyen on a respirator and gave her a cardiotonic but could not save her.

Dr. Tuong and Khanh then carried Huyen’s body in a car to Thanh Tri Bridge and threw it into the Hong River.

After arresting the two men, police also found Khanh having stolen an iPhone 5 from the woman.

The Hanoi People’s Court opened a trial for the two defendants on April 14, 2014 but postponed it the same day and returned the case file to the investigation agency for clarification of some professional issues related to the woman’s death.

Needy students receive scholarships in Can Tho

The National Fund for Vietnamese children (NFVC) and Chevron Vietnam Ltd. in collaboration with the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho handed over 100 scholarships to disadvantaged students in the city at a ceremony on August 12.

Barry Andrew, head of Chevron Vietnam Ltd., said that the company is keen on promoting educational development. It has awarded scholarships to over 3,800 underprivileged students since 2009 through the NFVC’s “Together with children to school” programme, he added.

This year alone, the company will present 877 scholarships and help upgrade five schools in the Mekong Delta.

According to the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Welfare, more than 200,000 children in Vietnam drop out of school each year with reasons varied, including living too far away from school, with many from remote and mountainous areas having to walk around 5-10 km or even further to reach their school.

Nearly 1.5 million children are living in disadvantageous living conditions and more than 2.5 million others are likely to fall victim to economic difficulties.

The “Together with children to school” programme, aiming to encourage students to overcome their difficulties to go to school, was launched in September 2012 and is being implemented in 47 provinces and cities nationwide.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau religious followers abide by law

A majority of religious dignitaries and followers in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau comply with the Party guidelines and State law, the provincial People’s Committee has said.

Over the past 10 years, local authorities have dealt with nearly 5,000 administrative cases related to religious affairs, the province informed the Government Committee for Religious Affairs at their local working session on August 11.

However, several unorthodox religious faiths have appeared, with places of worship seen to be built without permission, mostly in forestry plots far from residential areas or on family backyards.

By late 2011, 376 of such illegal cases were uncovered, with 294 in Tan Thanh district.

The authorities have requested a closer watch over land purchase and transfer, and unlicensed establishment of places of worship.

The government officials gave answers to some specific cases and pledged to convey authorities’ suggestions to the cabinet upon their return.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau is home to some 4,000 dignitaries and followers, making up half of the local population.

Vietnam is home to many religions and beliefs, mainly Buddhism, with 6.8 million followers, Catholicism (5.7 million), Hoa Hao (1.4 million), Cao Dai (808,000), Protestantism (734,000), Islam (73,000), and Brahmanism (56,000).

Up to 98 percent of Vietnamese families practise some kind of worship at home.-

HCM City goes on building new-style rural areas

Ho Chi Minh City targets to have 41 out of the 56 communes under the new-style rural area building programme meeting 17 – 19 criteria and the remainder satisfying at least 15 by the end of 2014.

The southern economic hub mobilised over 2.8 trillion VND (133.3 million USD) to construct 1,327 basic infrastructure works in the first half of 2014.

At present, all of the communes have met the criteria on electricity and health care while 49 have ensured a stable rate of labourers with permanent jobs.

Meanwhile, 43 communes have succeeded in providing standard housing for their residents, and 42 have satisfied cultural requirements.

So far six communes in the city have met all 19 criteria of the programme.

The national target programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria regarding socio-economic development, politics and security – defence, aiming to give a facelift to rural regions of Vietnam.

Building infrastructure, improving production capacity, constructing public works, protecting the landscape and environment, and promoting local traditions and cultural identities are among them.

HCM City is striving to complete the programme by the end of April 2015.

Bio-substances used for livestock waste treatment

Using biological liquid absorbing substances together with rice husks or sawdust to make a sheet-like mat in the farming of livestock and cattle will improve sanitary condition and health for the animals, leading to high economic gains for breeders.

This bio-technology has been allowed to apply on a trial basis in many localities across the country like Ha Nam , Hau Giang, Dong Thap, Bac Giang, Ben Tre, Thanh Hoa, Tay Ninh, Nam Dinh, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh and Phu Tho.

According to the Animal Husbandry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of November 2013, 28 farms and 3,658 households raising cattle have used such bio-substances on a total farming area of 70,000 square meters.

The bio-substance use is growing right in localities under the trial basis since the application has shown to remarkably reduce manure contamination in animal housings, increase disease resistance for animal species, significantly cut production and labour costs for breeders, and protect the environment.

Experts calculated that the country’s animal husbandry industry discharges about 80 million tonnes of solid waste annually, only 40 percent of which were treated, posing a high risk of pollution to the environment.

The lack of investment in the waste treatment system was described as a major restriction, heard a forum to review the issue in the Red River Delta that was held in the northern port city of Hai Phong recently.

While the number of households involved in livestock production remains high, their investment into treating animal waste remains very low.

Nguyen Thi Lien Huong from the National Centre for Agriculture Promotion suggested the creation of mechanisms to support farmers’ access to advanced waste treatment technology, especially those friendly to the environment.-

Distant training programs to be ceased: Ministry

The Ministry of Education and Training August 7 decided to stop enrollment for distant training for those who want to be teachers.

Moreover, the Ministry ordered educational facilities which provide distant training program for students to report assessment and effectiveness of distant training. Institutes must ensure training quality.

Facilities can continue training to those who enrolled before August 7, 2014.

Indonesian fishermen rescued by Vietnamese ship

A Vietnamese ship rescued 10 Indonesians sailors whose vessel apparently had an accident and drifted out to sea.

The incident occurred on August 11 morning. Soon after, an SOS signal was received by the HCM City Coastal Radio Station System. The vessel able to come to the rescue was the FS Glory, operated by Vien Dong Shipping.

The ship had been entering Malaysian waters when they spotted people adrift in the ocean and calling for help. The Vietnamese ship came to their aid immediately.

As of 11:50 am, they had saved 10 Indonesian nationals. The condition of the Indonesian sailors, however, is not clear, with many still complaining of weakness. The area in which they were sailing is known for strong winds.

The FS Glory is currently being taken back to Indonesia, and its sailors repatriated.

Kien Giang: damaged dykes pose great danger

More than 385 km of river and sea dykes in the southern province of Kien Giang have been damaged, posing great danger to local people, especially as the rainy season is coming.

The most serious damage is seen at the 200-km sea dyke from Mui Nam (Ha Tien) to Tieu Dua (An Minh) bordering southernmost Ca Mau province, the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment said, adding that the cost for dyke repair would exceed the local budget’s ability.

Experts said besides impacts from climate change and rising sea level, the sea dykes suffer from the loss of protective coastal forests.

Meanwhile, heavy traffic in rivers coupled with floods put great pressure on river embankments.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Lam Hoang Sa, a project sponsored by the Vietnamese and German Governments will come into force in 2015 to restore and develop protective forest in coastal areas.

In addition, under a master plan on developing a multi-purpose irrigation system for the Mekong Delta, Kien Giang will receive investment to upgrade its sea dykes and a number of major river embankment sections. A number of irrigational works will also be built to prevent land erosion along rivers and coastal areas.

In the immediate future, the local authorities will do their utmost to reinforce affected areas and plant trees to restore mangrove forest to cope with the coming rainy season.

Kien Giang develops sustainable fisheries

Farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces of Kien Giang are earning stable incomes by breeding aquatic species in submerged coastal forests and around islands.

Of the 6,000ha of coastal forests stretching from Ha Tien town to the Ca Mau Peninsula, Kien Giang authorities have allocated a certain portion to local households to manage, protect, and develop.

They are allowed to use 30 per cent of the water surface in their forests to breed fish and other creatures.

Besides, the Kien Giang Province Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Centre provides the families financial support and breeding techniques.

This has helped many of them escape poverty by farming shrimp, crab, and blood cockles.

Nguyen Hoang Luong, who received 6ha of forest in 2012 in Xeo La 2 hamlet in An Minh District, said he bred blood cockles in a 2ha area.

The centre has provided him a grant of VND20 million (US$950) and taught him how to breed the mollusc.

He earned VND400 million ($19,000) a year.

Vo Hoang Viet, head of the An Minh District Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said breeding aquatic creatures in coastal forests was a natural farming model since the animals did not have to be fed, resulting in low costs.

Breeding of blood cockles was well developed in his area, he said.

The bureau planned to develop this model in other places and create a brand name for An Minh blood cockles to create stable markets, he said.

Farming of shrimp, fish, crabs, blood cockles, clams, and other creatures in coastal areas and breeding fish in cages around islands are developing well in the province.

With its 140 islands of various sizes, Kien Giang has among the largest number of floating cages in the country for breeding fish and other creatures.

In Kien Luong, Kien Hai, and Phu Quoc districts and Ha Tien town, farmers breed high-value fish and other species in cages including cobia fish, spotted grouper, black-spot grouper, pilot fish, yellow croaker, red snapper, and lobsters, mostly for export.

Phan Nham Dan, who has 10 floating cages each measuring 16sq.m and 100 cobia fish in Bai Chuong hamlet in Phu Quoc District's Hon Thom Commune, said the water here was clean and the fish grew rapidly.

Each cage could fetch a profit of VND50 million ($2,380) a year, he said.

Each crop of cobia fish takes one year to harvest and the fish can weigh 9-10 kilogramme each.

But the high cost of the cages is an obstacle that prevents them from expanding this model, according to farmers. A 16sq.m cage costs around VND150 million ($7,100).

To sustainably develop the model, Kien Giang has zoned fishing areas and plans to set up centres to produce fish fry and create policies to support farmers set up the cages.

The zones for the cage model are Kien Luong, Kien Hai, and Phu Quoc districts and Ha Tien town, which will have 1,500 of the cages with an annual output of 2,000 tonnes by 2015, going up to 3,000 cages and of 6,000 tonnes five years later.

Farmers in the province now have more than 900 cages.

Authorities may relocate orphans, elderly from Hanoi pagoda after infant trading scandal

Over 100 children and 39 elderly people looked after at a Buddhist pagoda in Long Bien District, Hanoi, will likely be sent to social sponsoring centers for management and care, the city Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said on Sunday.

Dang Van Bat, deputy director of the department, said his agency has worked out two options to handle the number of abandoned and orphaned children who are staying at Bo De Pagoda under the support of the pagoda and its patrons.

The Hanoi People’s Committee will decide on which option will be chosen, Bat said.

These options are offered while an inspection team is checking all activities related to receiving, bringing up, and taking care of abandoned or orphaned children at Bo De following the arrest of two women for trading a boy from the pagoda for US$1,650.

One of the options is to grant the pagoda, whose abbot is nun Thich Dam Lan, a license for setting up a social sponsoring center on its premises so that it can continue receiving and caring for disadvantaged children and old people, the deputy director said.

Over the past several years, the pagoda has doubled as a social sponsoring center for children and elderly people but it has yet to obtain any permit to do so, he added.

The other option is that the pagoda will be required to stop receiving and caring for children and the department will transfer all of them to public social sponsoring centers in the capital city.

It is unlikely for authorities to choose to issue a license to Bo De, Bat said, explaining that the pagoda is found failing to meet necessary standards for supporting 106 children and 39 elderly people currently residing there.

The department has asked five state-owned charitable organizations to be ready for taking over these needy children and elderly people from the pagoda.

These entities including Social Sponsoring Centers 1, 2 and 3, the Center for Elderly People and Handicapped Children, and the Center for Social Labor and Education 2, the official said.

Regarding the children trading at Bo De, Hanoi police on August 3 arrested Pham Thi Nguyet, 35, of Hoang Mai District, and Nguyen Thi Thanh Trang, 37, the former caretaker of children at the pagoda.

Nguyet was found buying an 8-month-old boy, named Cu Nguyen Cong, for VND35 million ($1,650) from Trang on January 1 this year.

After the trade, Nguyet renamed him Pham Gia Bao, who died on June 27 after contracting measles.

Police are continuing their investigation to determine how many children have been traded or given away from the pagoda and whether the nun Thich Dam Lan was involved in the purported trade.

Ninh Thuan benefits from global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has donated over US$176,000 to help the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan improve healthcare services.

The funding is used to run training courses for medical workers, purchase medical equipment for healthcare centres in districts and communes, and improve the managerial capacity of the medical system, especially planning, monitoring and evaluation.

The project, which enters the second phase this year, is designed to assist the grassroots-level medical system in 15 provinces across the country from 2012-2016.

The project has a total investment of nearly US$87 million, of which US$86 million is sourced from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

In the first phase, a total of 17 healthcare centres in Bac Ai and Thuan Bac districts of Ninh Thuan province has benefitted from the project.

State officials meet Hoa Hao Buddhist dignitaries

The Executive Committee of Hoa Hao Buddhist sect in the southern province of Vinh Long has vowed to rally the involvement of its followers in residential lifestyle and new rural development campaigns.

The pledge was made at a meeting between over 230 Hoa Hao Buddhist dignitaries and officials from the Steering Committee for the South-western Region, the Ho Chi Minh Academy of Politics and Public Administration, the provincial Party Committee, and the provincial chapter of the Vietnam Fatherland Front on August 11.

The event aimed to update the dignitaries of the religious situation and the implementation of Party and State policies on religions and beliefs over the past time.

Dignitaries urged local authorities to promptly handle wrongdoings committed in the name of religion, make it easier for Hoa Hao Buddhists to be admitted to the Party, and support followers in having places of worship in line with law.

Home to over 35,000 Hoa Hao Buddhist followers, Vinh Long authorities have acted to ensure that religious policies are in full place and their citizens are entitled to pursue any religions or beliefs in conformity with law.

Founded in 1939 in the southern province of An Giang, the sect has spread across 19 cities and provinces nationwide with over 2 million followers.

Hoa Hao combines Buddhism, Animism, Confucianism and indigenous practices under the motto "For the dharma, for the nation".

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